


Puns and Caffeine, What Makes the World Go Round

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Coffee Shops, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Yang and Ruby work at Qrow's coffee shop when they're not at Beacon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-06 18:56:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14063355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Yang Xiao Long works in her uncle Qrow's coffee shop when she's not attending Beacon Academy. Most days are spent chatting with her sister and uncle as she handles the register. The coffee shop starts to get an influx of customers thanks to the Vytal Festival and one customer in particular catches Yang's eye. Nicknaming himself "The Monkey King", Sun Wukong gives Yang a run for her money when it comes to puns and also manages to steal her heart along the way.





	1. Doughnut Worry

**Author's Note:**

> I have recently fallen for this rarepair and refuse to get up, so yeah, expect updates and new fics for this lovely couple as time goes on.

“Ruby! One shot caramel macchiato with extra caramel!” Yang called the order to her sister who stood nearby washing out some dishes. She gave Yang a salute, getting suds in her hair and Yang turned her attention back to the customer.

Tan of skin, blonde hair, deep blue eyes and no shirt? She knew it got hot sometimes in Vale, but she’d never seen a guy go shirtless outside of the city pool. He was fidgeting with his wallet, softly mumbling and grunting as he tried to get out his lien. Yang usually tried to keep a business state of mind when working in her uncle’s coffee shop, but there was something crazily attractive about this guy that she just couldn’t pin down. He finally got the money free and handed it to Yang, with a nice tip too!

Yang put the money in the register and leaned over the counter, resting her face in her palm, “So who do I make the order out to?” She smiled in what she hoped was a professional yet appealing way. Hot guys came through the shop pretty often and most took notice of Yang. After all she was the fiery, busty and confident gal who took every order from 9 to 5.

A little laugh came from her side, but the customer didn’t seem to notice, he just smiled back and said, “Oh… Just make it out to The Monkey King!” Yang paused and looked to Ruby who had a quizzical look on her face and some caramel on her hand. Ruby shrugged at her sister and looked at her hand and quickly started –of course- licking it off before washing her hands again.

Yang glanced at some movement at her customer’s back, a monkey tail clearly sprouting from his body. _Oh that must be where the nickname comes from_ , she thought and waved to Ruby for the okay to write down the name which she quickly scribbled down on the cup in a flourish. Yang didn’t really give any reaction to the tail, her uncle’s place was founded on the rule of coffee for everyone. Besides, she’d seen weirder. Her sister would explode into rose petals, her uncle turns into a crow (rather ironically) and one of her teammates was a Faunus. To Yang, being Faunus just wasn’t that big of a deal, it was just another part of life.

Now she didn’t mean to lose herself in a deep one way conversation about how she viewed the world but it happened anyway so she immediately shook her head and chuckled nervously at the cute boy before speaking up, “Sorry about that! Is there anything else that we can get ya today?” She motioned to their beautifully designed treat windows, filled to the brim with everything a coffee shop should offer with its drinks.

The guy hung there for a second before eyeing the display case, “Uh yeah sure! I’ll have…” More mumbling came from him and Yang smirked. There was something adorably great about that mumbling. He pointed a finger at one of their famous doughnuts, a regular glazed one, “I’ll have one of those please!”

Yang tried to hold back a smile as she reached into the case and carefully pulled out the doughnut and placed it on a napkin. She always loved this part of the job… She counted up the total and as seriously as she could, said, “And that’ll be 11 lien, and for choosing a treat you’re getting the most Yang for your buck!”

The entire shop groaned except the new guy who just looked around confused at the sudden reaction.

“So uh… What was that about?” He gestured to the entire coffee shop.

Yang swiftly pointed to her name tag, “Name’s Yang Xiao Long and that’s my punbearable joke.”

The new guy laughed and Yang’s heartbeat quickened just a teensy bit, “Oh –doughnut- worry, I think it was awe-Sun!” Behind him, three guys groaned, seemed like they knew him, probably his teammates if he was here for the Vytal festival.

Yang laughed at the stupid pun, it was cute how much effort he put into it. Most people just accepted her pun and moved on, hoping they’d never meet again. But this was the first person to return the puns!

He started laughing nervously, “See uh, the pun is my name is Sun. Sun Wukong. Nice to meet you Yang-“

Ruby was taking none of this and interrupted him to call out, “One shot caramel macchiato with extra caramel for the Monkey King!”

Sun ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, “Aw, I guess that’s me. I’ll see you around Yang!” He gave a wave to his friends and thanks to Ruby for the drink before walking out of the coffee shop doors.

The rest of the day just seemed bland to Yang after that and she found herself hoping the mysterious and punny Monkey King would return another day.


	2. A Latte Feelings

“Ruby! Ice Queen wants a latte with whipped cream on top and Blake wants a-“

Ruby jumped in and caught right onto her sister’s message, “Iced black tea no sugar with a scone on the side!”

Yang shot fingerguns over to her sister, “Good job, now if only you could remember this stuff in class!” She chuckled, taking Weiss’ card and scanning in it the register.

“Hey! I remember it in class! Remember because Professor Port asked uh…”

Blake chimed in, “He asked what the weakness of a Boarbatusk was and you got called on.”

Ruby smiled at Blake as she poured more beans into the coffee machine, “Yeah that! And I said it was a cappuccino with half and half milk foam and whipped cream on top and a bagel on the side!” The clattering of beans on the counter immediately told Ruby to stop overloading the coffee machine. She zipped around using her semblance to get the dust pan and sweep up the coffee beans as Yang shook her head.

“Ruby, you clean up the beans, I’ll man the orders. We don’t have anyone coming in right now so the register will be fine.” Yang said with a smile, already starting the water to brew the tea for Blake.

The sound of the door opening and footsteps walking in had Yang returning to her post and pushing Ruby towards the tea kettle to make sure it didn’t overflow. She opened her arms up in a welcoming gesture to the new guests and cheerfully said, “Welcome to the Qrow’s Nest! What can I get ya today?”

And unmistakable laugh came from the guest and Yang finally took a look at the customer. Stubble, messy black hair turning gray and a tattered red cloak on his back. It was none other than her uncle Qrow, the owner of the coffee shop.

“Oh, hey uncle Qrow! Stopping by to check on us?” She scratched the back of her head nervously, noticing Ruby still sweeping up beans instead of watching the tea kettle.

“Not this time firecracker, I heard someone had held up the line yesterday and had to come check it out.”

Oh crap.

Yang suddenly changed demeanor, she shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows at her uncle, “Uh, yeah… That was me, but it’s not like we were that busy. I just wanted to chat with a new customer was all.”

Ruby giggled beside her, finally getting to work on Blake’s tea, it seemed she must’ve already finished Weiss’, since the heiress was stirring her cup quietly as she leaned over the table she and Blake had claimed.

Qrow laughed dryly, “Yeah, three teams and seven angry phone calls tell me it might have been just a tad busy.”

“Yang’s got a cru-“ Yang covered her sister’s mouth only for her hand to be promptly licked which caused her to let go. Ruby always did that when Yang needed her shush, and it was always just as disgusting.

“What was that?” Qrow crossed his arms, “And I don’t mean Ruby licking your hand, I know exactly what that was.”

Ruby had probably the biggest shit eating grin as she said in a singsong voice, “Yang’s got a crush, Yang’s got a crush…” She probably repeated it several times but Yang blocked it out after the first two.

Now Qrow seemed to have a dawning understanding across his face, “Oh, new customer got your attention firecracker?”

Yang bit her lip then sighed, “Yeah… He was cute and I was hoping he’d come back if I chatted him up.”

“We’ve all been there.” He said with laugh, “Now here’s the thing, doing that kind of thing gives us a bad reputation. Sure one guy’s happy, but about twenty others will be nagging on me about my niece.” The door opened again, causing Qrow to turn and say, “Sorry bud, we’re not open yet-“

Qrow’s sudden pause told Yang exactly who it was. Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy and good friend of her uncle. And while Qrow wouldn’t admit it, Yang was fairly certain he was the reason the coffee shop had been started in the first place. The Professor was rather deep in a caffeine addiction.

“Sorry to intrude outside of business hours Qrow but I was hoping I could get a drink and perhaps a cookie?” He pointed to his empty coffee mug, one thing a little different about the Qrow’s Nest was that they were willing to fill up customers mugs, after washing them obviously, it was a little quirk that got them a few extra customers who didn’t like the feel of to-go cups.

Qrow nodded to Oz, “Sure thing, you’re always welcome here!” He gave the Professor a grin and turned to Yang, “We’ll talk about this later.”

Ozpin handed Yang his mug, with its signature Beacon symbol, “Oh, was I interrupting something?”

Yang calculated Ozpin’s usual coffee choice since she wasn’t given an order and handed the mug off to Ruby as she said, “My uncle’s upset I was flirting with a customer.”

“I’m not upset about the flirting! I’m upset you interrupted business for it,” Qrow piped in, “If anything comes of that boy, let me know.”

Ruby looked between Ozpin and Qrow, “Is it possible you know him, Professor? He’s only shown up now that the Vytal Festival is starting.”

“Hmm, I could check records but there’s no point unless you have reason to believe he’s a Huntsman…”

Qrow butted in, “Oz, you don’t gotta do that for my niece.”

Ozpin took the now filled mug from Ruby with a nod of thanks, “I realize that Qrow, but I do owe you several favors. Besides I’m rather interested in the fact one young man stopped your business.”

Uncle Qrow sighed, “Fine…” He waved his hand towards Yang, “So firecracker, did the guy look like a Huntsman?”

“Oh yeah, the guy had better abs then me.”

Weiss chimed in with some irritation in her voice, “There’s that or you could mention the fact he had three other guys with him. Meaning four people, or a regular team.”

Yang laughed, “Well yeah, there’s that. Also I kind of got the feeling he wasn’t from here. I mean nobody goes around shirtless here unless 1. They’ve been in Qrow’s liquor or 2. They’re Qrow.”

“Hey!”

“Calm down old man.”

“Don’t call me old… Now none of this is gonna matter unless you got a name out of the guy.”

Yang paused, pretending she didn’t write the guy’s name on her hand the night before, “Hmm, his name was Sun… Sun Wukong.”

Ozpin immediately started pouring out details from his scroll, “Sun Wukong, age 17, leader of team SSSN from Mistral although the boy hails from Vacuo. He’s a Faunus and he prefers boxers to briefs.”

Yang laughed, “Wait do they actually ask that?!”

“No, but I thought I’d try my hand at humor. In reality no one my age should be concerning themselves with a teenager’s undergarments.”

Qrow went behind the counter as the kids laughed putting on his apron and then turning over the sign on the door, “We’ll talk more about this later. Get ready girls, we’re open for business.” He went straight to washing his hands.

And as fate, gods or whatever you believe in would have it, the first person in the door a few minutes later was the monkey-tailed fellow.


	3. Quit Hoarsing Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates regarding fics, check blake-belladonna-the-anti on tumblr.  
> Thank you all for your support! It makes it much more fun to write and it's heartwarming to see there are other people out there who are (at least willing) to enjoy this pairing! My love for Solarflare is tough as it has very little content both art and fic wise, but as someone with the ability to draw and write I've taken it into my own hands to make content. I encourage all of my readers to do the same with any pairings they enjoy, even if you think it wont get kudos or wont be as good, trust when I say that while kudos and comments are nice, getting the content out and spreading the idea of the pairing is the best thing you can do.

Yang tried, she really did, but the smile crept on her face and was stubbornly staying.

Sun, thankfully, return the grin as he walked in, “Nice to see you two again!” He waved to Ruby but turned when he heard a prim snicker and saw Weiss and Blake sitting at their table. He gave them a wave too, looking confused at Weiss’ snobby expression, “So do you guys live in here or did I misread when this place opens?”

Blake smiled warmly and elbowed Weiss, the team hadn’t really discussed their feelings on the Faunus but Weiss certainly seemed to see them negatively, Blake on the other hand seemed to be the opposite, “Welcome. We’re regular customers here so we get special bonuses, like being able to come in early.”

Qrow chuckled, “Yeah it definitely has nothing to do with the fact you’re my nieces teammates.” He went back to refilling the tea stock behind the counter with Ruby.

Sun’s grin grew wider, “Oh you guys are Huntresses? That’s really cool. Guessing you go to Beacon?”

Ruby opened her mouth but Yang spoke first, leaving her little sister with a sour expression, “Yup Team RWBY! We’re kinda the bee’s knees around here.”

Ruby muttered something about normal knees.

Sun scratched the back of his head, “But isn’t her name Ruby?” He pointed to Yang’s sister, which earned a quick response from Ruby, possible payback for being interrupted.

“Yes! It is! And it does get confusing!”

Yang rolled her eyes, and asked a question she already knew the answer to, “You a Huntsman? Also you might wanna order something before my Uncle Qrow blows a gasket.” Ozpin chuckled at that.

“Yeah, I’m the leader actually! Team SSSN and yeah, ours gets confusing too.” At Ozpin’s chuckle Sun looked at the guy as he approached the counter as Yang’s urging, “Wait, aren’t you the Professor of Beacon?!”

Ozpin nodded, “Pleased to meet you young man, it’s good to see the youth of today still has the fire in their hearts for protecting what they care about.” He shot a glance at Qrow who came over with a pot of coffee to top off Ozpin’s mug, “Not everyone has that in mind when they start, but in my experience it’s often what they leave with…” He smirked at Qrow who grumbled under his breath.

“Oh uh, thank you sir!” Sun then leaned over the counter toward Yang, whispering to her, “I want the same thing as yesterday but I gotta ask, is there something between those two?”

Yang had to bite her knuckle to keep from laughing, her uncle and Ozpin?! Sure they acted weird around each other but as far as she knew the only person who thought they were dating was Ruby, who was constantly idolizing their uncle. Dating a headmaster of a Huntsmen academy was probably the coolest thing she could think of at the time. After all she used to think Qrow was dating their dad when she was little.

“Hey uh, Ruby. One shot caramel macchiato with extra caramel.” She leaned in, close enough to feel the warmth of Sun’s breath, “Nah, they’re just good friends. Ruby and the girl with the bow though? They’re dating. Her name’s Blake.”

“That’s cool, nice that you’re supportive of her and willing to share it with a stranger. Also you remember my order? Sweet-“

Qrow intervened, “Yang, either get a room or do your job. I don’t pay you to hit on the customers. Also we should have more people coming in so you better get your head in the game!”

Sun turned a shade of bright pink, “Oh, sorry sir that was my fault!” He straightened up and Yang suddenly realized he wasn’t much taller than her, maybe a couple inches.

Qrow leaned over the counter, “Don’t call me sir, it makes me feel old. Also you shouldn’t be the one apologizing.” He shot an icy look at Yang who sighed in response.

Sun handed Yang his lien and grabbed a seat from one of the tables and brought it over to Weiss and Blake’s table, “Okay if I sit here ladies?”

Weiss was quick but this time Blake was faster, “No, you’re fine Sun.” She took a sip of her tea and looked over to Ruby who was calling out Sun’s order out of habit, she got a goofy look on her face and remembered Sun’s presence and cleared her throat as Sun went to grab his coffee.

Weiss rolled her eyes at Blake, “Honestly if anyone should get a room it should be you and Ruby…”

Yang laughed at that, earning glares from Blake and her sister, “Room? I think they need a cave, they’re so un- _bear_ -able.”

Sun began laughing as he took his drink from Ruby, “Oh _bear_ with them with them Yang! They’re _bear_ -ly doing anything, you’re making this rather em- _bear_ -assing!” He took a sip of his coffee only to find it piping hot.

“ _Fur_ the love of… Did you not read the sign saying contents may be _bear_ -y hot!?” Yang laughed but quickly grabbed a glass and gave the guy some ice water.

After taking a long drink of water, Sun was back at it with the puns, “Oh no need to be _panda_ -ring me…” He shot fingerguns, “I do _bear_ -lieve that it _paws_ -itive experience!”

Yang couldn’t keep from facepalming, she had to stop the puns, “Oh really and why’s that?” She kept her grin on for when their next customer came in, unaware of the horror they were about to witness.

Sun took a deep breath, “Well I’m sure next time you’re _bruin_ you’ll try not to be _brewining_ your costumers’ tongues. It’s not an ex- _panda_ -ble thing you see. It’s actually rather _grizzly_ that you didn’t warn me. I’d hate to have to _bear_ -y this place in lawsuits. That’d just be bar- _bear_ -ic of me. Now that that’s over will, I do believe I’m _koala_ -fied to be crowned _bear_ -on of _paw_ -ns?”

A smack was heard as Weiss hit her forehead on the table. Blake was shaking her head in disbelief. Ruby had almost let the new customer’s drink overflow because of it. Ozpin nearly spat out his drink. Qrow looked like he was reaching for his flask and Yang… Yang couldn’t stop laughing.

She laughed until her lungs ached. Until her stomach hurt. Until her throat was sore. She laughed so hard she was wheezing and snorting. Nobody made Yang Xiao Long snort, nobody… But apparently that had changed.

Qrow had to take over the register until Yang finally stopped, by then Sun had left citing needing to meet up with his teammates. When Yang was finally feeling better she got off her stool in the corner behind the counter and tapped her uncle on the shoulder.

“Gods kid, you can laugh all day can’t you? Lemme hear you speak before I let you back to work.” Qrow said, all while counting the lien he’d been handed.

“I’m fine Uncle Qro-“ Her voice was hoarse and she knew what that meant. She couldn’t work the register. So instead of hearing Qrow’s lecture, she took off her apron and sat at Weiss and Blake’s table in shame.

Glorious… Glorious shame…

She knew now, she had to ask that guy out.


End file.
